Traveling Back In Time

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Day Five-9/22/09
The Storming of Versailles

Barring the advice of the guidebook,we were venturing out to the chateau Versailles today. Supposedly,Tuesday was said to be "especially crowded," but it was the day that worked best for us,so be it.

Since we were right by the Champ de Mars RER station,we didnt have far to go. We purchased separate tickets for the ride (about 7 euros RT) found the correct platform (there are quite a few named Versailles) and waited. FYI-If you are taking the RER for part of any route,the wait times tend to be a bit longer than the regular Metro.

Alas,we were not bored during our wait.We witnessed a group of young men who appeared to be "trinket sellers" (guys carrying rings of Eiffel Tower figurines,and such) barreling down the platform. Not far behind, a station employee and a cop, were sprinting after them.Apparently,these upstanding gentlemen had taken advantage of the high jump discount fare.Further down the platform,they managed to dive onto a train just before the doors slammed shut.Defeated,the employee and the cop slunk back to their booths.

Our train arrived not long after that,and we settled in for the twenty or so minute ride out to Versailles. I actually find the history of the French Revolution interesting,and I blathered on about it for awhile to Giles,who feigned interest appropriately. I had read the directions to the chateau in the book,but it wasn't necessary-about 90% of the trains passengers were headed there,and we shuffled out the station and down the street like a heard of sheep. In the unlikely event of getting lost,there were several guides along the way shilling out tours that indicated that you were on the right track.

About a block(if that) before the castles entrance (marked prominently with a statue of Louis XIV on a horse) there was a little plaza with shops and food.We were a bit hungry,and being wary of the inflated prices of food that we were ceratin awaited us inside Versailles,decided to eat there first. In the interest of time,we (gasp!) stopped at the McDonalds in the plaza. Before you mock,it DID turn out to be a cultural experience-the menu was slightly different than the US version,and they had computer stations where you could place your order and wait for them to call it out.Besides,we would have missed the oppotunity to experience yet another unisex sink between bathrooms.

After our lunch,we ventured past the statue into the golden (I'm not kidding) gates of Versailles. Upon spying the line snaked around the courtyard,I attempted once again to see if the Museum Pass would allow a shortened wait.I'm nothing if not persistent! Needless to say,we found ourselves at the end of the line.At least it was warm and sunny,and the view of the chateau's face can occupy one for hours. The middle part alone is probably larger than the White House-and then there are wings attached to that,sprawling out for-yards?blocks?acres? (I'm not great with distance perception,what can I say?) It was impossible to take a photo including the entire thing-though that didn't inhibit people from trying,myself included!

Despite the line,it took about 20 minutes to get inside,through a small security set-up (similar to pre-9/11 airport security...hmm...we all know how effective THAT turned out to be). Once inside,I attempted to follow the "walking tour" outlines in my guidebook,but found that it began at some other starting point than where we were.So,after spinning in circles for a moment,and ending up in room after room of portraits,we decided to give in and buy the audio tour. About three "stops" into the tour,it matched up with the one in my book,so I used it as a supplement.

I forget which "color" our audio tour was(I want to say red,but dont quote me on it),but it appeared to be the one that is probably of most interest.The duration was about 90 minutes if you listened to the description and moved swiftly,but like others,we took our time looking and taking photos. We started out at the chapel and worked our way through the royal entrance rooms on the first floor,then up the marble steps to the "entertaining rooms",such as the Red room,the Billiards room,etc. Each room was more ostentatious than the next,with deep colored walls and draperies,exotic vases and chests,and intricately designed wooden furniture.There were painitngs galor,even on the ceilings!

Then,as if these rooms weren't enough to gape at,the tour toom us into the grand Hall of Mirrors.I think this is where chandeliers go to die.It IS beautiful,though-they placed it well, so that the sunlight streams in the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side and reflects off of the thousands of mirrors on the other side onto the marble floor below,golden lights above-it's a glitzy experience.The dozens of cameras flashing throughout the hall only add to the sensation overload!

After spending some time in the HOM,we went on with the tour to the "private" rooms,which were mainly the bedrooms of King Louis and Marie-Antoinette. Of course,each room was outfitted as well as those that preceeded them.I think that Laura Ashley may have been inspired by MA's room-there was not a surface that a flower did not cover! The tour explained how the poor girl (Marie-Antoinette,that is) went through childbirth in that bed,with an audience at the foot.I hope she at least got some new sheets out of the deal.

Once we were done with these rooms,we ended up in a couple of rooms dedicated to Napoleon,and were platered with life size paintings of his coronation and battles. At this point,it seemed like our tour was merging with another,and sure enough,ours concluded soon after.We ended up in another grand hall filled with war paintings,and after exloring them a bit,decided to head for the gardens.

We got a bit lost trying to find a way out,and ended up doing our tour in reverse.We found ourselves outide near the security area,and saw a couple of booths by the entrance of the gardens,so we approached them,Museum Passes in hand.Discovering that the Pass had another fallacy and did NOT cover admission to the gardens,as it claimed,we shelled out another 7 euros apiece to enter. I decided at this time that the Museum Pass was not worth the paper it was printed on.

(I later learned that apparently there was another entrance,about a mile away outside the chateau,that did take the pass-supposedly.This was cited on the guidebooks forum site,where people attacked me like I was the devil incarnate for suggesting that wrong information had been presented in the book.Others experiences may vary,but this was mine-I'd approach those forums with caution.TripAdvisor and others are much more ameniable to feedback.Again,this is just my opinion-if you don't like it,thats your issue.)


Upon entering the gardens,we found ourselves surrounded by dozens of flowers in every color,type,arrangement you could think of in little mini-gardens. Walking awayfrom the castle,at least three ornate fountains greeted us as we descended down the steps towards an expansion of green lawn,surrounded by trees and flowerpots,all leading to a sprawling pool of water.Hidden paths broke away from the main walk,tucked between the trees.Classical music filled the air,speakers tucked behind the foliage.And this was just the BEGINNING of the gardens.

Strolling along the path,we came to the lake and reaxed a bit in the sun,watching the people on the paddleboats in the middle.After awhile,we looked at the maps of the property,and decided to forgoe walking over to the stables and Trianons,since we wanted to get back to Paris and fit something else in that day. So we walked back towards the castle,stopping to explore one of the paths that branched off the main walk.We came to a clearing that was circular and had a fountain in the middle.Several others sttod nearby,glancing at the fountain. Not seeing any signs prohibiting it,I stepped down towards it to take a picture.Suddenly,pandemonium broke out-some guys were charging towards me,yelling STOP.

(Okay,I guess you weren't supposed to go any closer.Shouldn't there be ropes or something?)

Embarrassed,we scurried out of there.We found the main path and took some photos before heading back to the security to claim Giles backpack and leave.

On the train back into the city,we planned to go up to Montmarte and visit the Sacre-Coeur Basilica.If you've read any maps of Paris,you can see that this was quite a long way from Versailles-it took just over an hour to get there.Giles took a nap on the train,and I called to inquire about a tour bus to Normandy that we had wanted to go on the next day. Unfortunately,it was full,and while I could have paid more with another group,I decided that it was a good reason to come back to France and instead spend the last day with Giles in Paris.

A few connections later,we came to the Abysses stop in Montmarte,and passed a large group of people waiting for an elevator.Scoffing,we headed up the stairs,amazed that people were so lazy that they couldnt hike a few steps up.

Well,the laugh was on us-the "few steps" turned out to be about a hundred,as we climbed starcase after staircase,finally reaching the entrance of the station. As we sauntered outside,we took in the surroundings of Montmarte as we made our way to Sacre-Coeur.From my research,I had deduced that this was the seedy area of Paris,and I was correct.Definately not an area I'd be comfortable staying in! At the base of Sacre-Coeur,we saw many of the same musician/artist types that we had seen at the Pompidou Centre.However,instead of the bohemian feel present before,we noticed several panhandlers and scammers mixed in.

Sacre Coeur was uphill,but instead of taking the stairs,we elected to try the furnicular out,which was covered by the Paris Visite pass.Once at the top of the hill,we took in the breathtaking view of Paris lying before us.Quite a sight-that is,until we reached the top of the dome!

Our Paris Museum Passes did not cover the fee to climb the dome-surprise,surprise-so we purchased our tickets and crawled into the cavelike entrance to a set of narrow,spiraly steep stairs rivaling those at the Arc de Triomphe.However,these weren't quite as endless-the flights were broken up with paths outside the dome.It wasn't crowded at all,and seemed like we were the only ones there! Once at the top of the dome,we were treated to another stunning Parisian sunset view.

Upon leaving Sacre Coeur,we were walking along the base when we were approached by another "friendship bracelet" scammer.Like the first,he wrapped his bracelet around Giles wrist,and was clinging to him like a vine.Giles wrenched his wrist away,one hand firmly on the pocket containing his wallet.He and I were both yelling NO loudly.Finally Giles yelled loud enough that the guy backed off,flipping us the bird and screaming,

"You Americans are bastards! I hope the terrorists come over and blow your entire ***** country up!!"

Nice. We couldn't get out of Montmarte fast enough.

After the long day sightseeing,we had dinner at home with Giles family-his sister in law cooked a delicious lamb and ratatoullie meal.Apparently meat is better quality in France or something-it was great!

We concluded the evening with another walk through the adjacent Champ de Mars,watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle above.

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Photos

Parlour Room(?)
This painting was on the ceiling!

Gardens of Versailles
Walkway down to the first pond/lake

Garden Fountain
The back of the chateau is waaayyy in the back